


The Party Minus One

by stanleyvris



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Babysitter!Steve, Mileven, Not a mileven centered fic! More focused on El & Max!, Other, elmax - Freeform, from enemies to friends, maxel, not really ship elmax but more so friendship, the party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 09:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13923822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stanleyvris/pseuds/stanleyvris
Summary: The party hangs out with Eleven every Thursday night, but Max doesn't seem to want to join them in their visits.





	1. Chapter 1

“How long?” said Eleven, harsher than she had intended.

“A year,” replied Hopper as he drew the blinds of the log cabin shut.

“Another year?” spluttered El. She looked around the cabin and felt as if the walls were closing in on her. She had to spend the entirety of last year, locked away in this tiny place, and the news that she would have to do it again was not pleasing.

“Yes, another year. It’s for your own safety,” sighed Hopper. He’d known this conversation was coming, but he dreaded it nonetheless.

“No,” argued El, staring at Hopper with an angry intensity in her eyes. There was no way she was going to stay in this tiny cabin for another year. She wanted to be out in the world, out with Mike, and the rest of the party.

“I have made arrangements for your friends to come and see you once a week. That way you won’t be completely missing out,” explained Hopper as he moved around the room, tidying the place.

“When?” questioned El, huffing and slouching down on the chair. She was determined, but she knew there was no point in fighting back, she’d have to be confined to the cabin for another year.

“Thursdays. They can all come over and you can all have a big playdate,” said Hopper as he crouched to grab a book from the bottom of the shelf. Eleven rolled her eyes and turned away, leaning back in the chair and folding her arms. Hopper stood up and looked sideways at her. “Or they could not come at all,” said Hopper flatly. Eleven’s head whipped around and she stared at him. She viewed the whole situation as unfair, which was understandable, but she was struggling to control her anger.

“They come over every Thursday,” stated El, emphasising the ‘every’. She and Hopper looked at each other for a long moment. Hopper nodded in response. “Halfway happy,” shrugged Eleven, turning to face the plate of eggos in front of her. She picked up a waffle and shoved it into her mouth.

\--

The bell to signal the end of the school day rang loudly, echoing through the empty hallways. Within seconds, the hallway was bustling with students, eager to leave school. Max, Lucas, Dustin, Mike and Will walked out of class and joined the flow of students towards the front doors. The doors swung open and they blinked at the sudden brightness. Lucas and Dustin jumped the bottom two steps whilst the others followed behind.

“It’s Thursday, you know what that means?” called Mike, turning around to face his friends.

“Cabin fever,” replied Lucas with a laugh.

“No, it means going to comfort a party member,” corrected Dustin.

Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin turned to follow the path to the carpark where Steve was waiting whilst leaning against his car. Max stayed where she was, eyes cast downwards as she fiddled with the sleeve of her shirt. Lucas turned and saw Max behind the group, and jogged to her.

“Aren’t you coming to see Eleven?” asked Lucas. Max snapped her head upwards to look at Lucas.

“Oh no… I uhm…” she searched her mind, trying to think of an excuse, “mum wants me home for this stupid family dinner we’re having. It’s super lame but I still have to go.”

“Alright, well, see you tomorrow,” said Lucas. He waved goodbye before turning to catch up with the rest of the party. Max watched them walk towards Steve’s car, and they all clambered in. They drove off, and out of sight. Max sighed and dropped her skateboard, stepping onto it, she skated smoothly down to meet Billy at his car.

\--

Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin were trampling through the bush, crunching brown and gold leaves beneath their feet. Mike and Dustin were arguing over some Lord of the Rings character whilst Will was looking up at the clear blue sky. After only a short walk, they arrived in front of the cabin.

“Tripwire,” said Mike, and they all stepped over the camouflaged wire that was just above the forest floor. They jumped up the steps onto the porch. Mike stepped forward and knocked loudly on the door using the special knock Hopper had taught them all. There was a clicking noise, then another, and then another - the door was now unlocked. Lucas pushed the door open and they walked in to find Eleven sitting on the couch watching a soap opera.

“El!” they all called out. She paused the show and turned to face the party, a wide smile appearing on her face. Her eyes scanned each of their faces and they nodded as she made eye contact with them. She automatically looked to the spot beside Lucas, only to find that the redhead was missing, she was glad to not see her.

“So, how have you been?” asked Mike as they all took off their bags and came to sit around Eleven. Lucas, Dustin and Will settled on the ground whilst Mike sat beside El on the couch.

“Good. Better now that you’re here,” she beamed.

“Anything interesting happen lately?” questioned Lucas as he looked around the tiny cabin. Eleven looked at him and they all burst out laughing.

“Guess not,” laughed Will. Dustin stood up and walked to the shelf, he carefully lifted down the dungeons and dragons box. It was a gift, from the whole party, to El, so that they could play with her whenever they wanted.

“Drumroll please, Will,” asked Mike. Will began to slap his knees rhythmically. Dustin sat back down and opened the box, pulling out the board, books and pieces. “It is time that we finally teach you how to play the greatest game of all time…. Dungeons and Dragons!” announced Mike. Lucas did jazz hands towards the box. Eleven looked at the board, and then up at them.

“It’s fun, trust me,” said Dustin as he saw the look of bewilderment on El’s face.

“Yeah. So I’ll explain our roles… I’m our Paladin, Will’s the Cleric, Dustin is our Bard, Lucas is the Ranger, and you can be our Mage!” listed Mike, pointing at everyone as he mentioned their names.

“And Max is our zoomer,” added Lucas with a smile.

“Yeah, that too I guess,” said Mike. Eleven’s faced scrunched up when she thought of Max.

“Let’s get started then…” said Dustin as he set the board up. 

Outside the cabin, the sun was beating down on the undergrowth as a soft breeze ruffled the leaves. Throughout the afternoon, bursts of laughter could be heard from the cabin as the party played for hours on end. It was difficult for Eleven to be stuck in one place, but being with her friends made it much, much easier.

\--

Max slammed the door of Billy’s car shut just as he drove away. She groaned as the sound of screeching rubber filled the air. Billy had left her and her friends alone after she had ordered him to, but he was still the same asshole step brother as before. She shook her head and pushed open the door to the arcade. As she pressed play on another game of Dig Dug, a pang of guilt settled in her gut. 

Max didn’t want to lie to Lucas about why she couldn’t go to the cabin, she just felt that with Eleven around, she didn’t have a place in the party. Yeah, Mike was warming up to her - slightly - but she had gotten nowhere with Eleven. In all truth, she hadn’t really tried after their first meeting. But El’s reaction to Max’s attempt of introducing herself was enough to make Max stay away. 

It was hard, to not be hanging out with the party when they were all together. Max had tried so hard, and she was finally a part of their group, but it was moments this this - when they went to see El - where she still felt like an outsider.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party plays charades with El in the cabin whilst Max resigns herself to the familiar comfort of the arcade.

Eleven was laying on the couch, staring at the clock on the wall. The hands on it seemed to be moving so slowly, and 4:00pm felt like it hours away instead of 15 minutes. This time she was ready, excited, to see her friends. It had been another lonely week, isolated to the log cabin. The constant streaming of soap operas, eating eggos and reading the dictionary was starting to bore Eleven. Now, the only interesting things were Hopper’s reports of the recent activity at the police station and her friends visiting her.

\--

Will, Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Max were walking towards Steve in the school parking lot. Dustin and Max were engrossed in a conversation, so much so that Max didn’t even realise where she was walking. Lucas was messing around with Mike, and Will watched them, a smile splitting his face. It was only when Steve called out that Max realised where she was.

“Max, you’re coming to El’s today?” questioned Steve as he threw his keys in the air before catching them. Max stopped talking and looked up.

“Oh, uhm…” she was at a loss for words again. Lucas looked sideways at her as she scrambled to think of an excuse. “Can’t, we’ve got a geography test tomorrow, and I’m so not ready for it.” Dustin opened his mouth to say something but Max shot a glare at him.

“Ok, see you later then,” Steve nodded before turning to the rest of the party and clapping his hands together, “let’s go kids.” Max watched as they all climbed into the car, she stepped back and waved as they drove off slowly through the carpark.

Max let out a sigh before stepping onto her skateboard. As she weaved through the crowd of students leaving the school, she thought back to her meeting with Eleven. She missed being able to hang out with the party. Last Friday, they had arrived at school and gushed about how much fun it was to play D&D and how Eleven was slowly understanding it. But Max knew she wasn’t going to be included in the fun. It would seem that her and El would never see eye to eye. 

She continued to skate down the road towards home, Billy had already left without a second thought. The wind blew through Max’s hair and a car honked at her as she drifted further onto the road, she was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice her surroundings. A second honk of a car horn made Max snap out of her daydream and turn to see that she was edging dangerously onto the road.

“Crap,” blurted Max as she swerved off the road and onto the sidewalk. She was heading towards the arcade as she always did. Even though she told the party she had other plans - for they really did have a geography test tomorrow - but those plans weren’t at all study related, unless you counted playing Dig Dug for the millionth time as studying to get better at video games.

\--

Lucas stepped up to the door and did the secret knock. The familiar sound of locks clicking reached their ears before the door swung open. Eleven was sitting up, staring at the door.

“Hey El!” called Mike. The others waved as they entered the cabin. Will pulled the door shut behind them.

“So what do you want to play today? More D&D?” asked Dustin as they all settled into their unassigned-assigned seats. It was the same as before, Eleven on the couch, Mike next to her, and Dustin, Lucas and Will spread out on the floor. Eleven shook her head.

“No?” said Mike, puzzled.

“Charades,” said Eleven, pointing to a small box on the shelf. Will stood up and plucked it off the shelf, blowing the dust from the top of the box.

“This’ll be interesting,” chimed in Lucas. Will lifted the lid off the box and pulled out the pile of cards, placing it in the centre of the circle.

“I’ll start!” called out Dustin. He reached forward and swiped the first card off the pile, he held it close to him and looked down at it briefly. “Alright, watch closely” he said as he put the card face down on the floor. Everyone shifted to face him as he pinched his nose with his right hand, raised his left arm and brought it down in a slithering motion.

“Drowning,” called out Will. Dustin shook his head and repeated the action.

“Fish,” said El. Dustin shook his head again and repeated the action, this time puffing his cheeks up and wiggling his body downwards.

“Oh!” called out Lucas. But Will had caught on quickly, and beat Lucas to the answer.

“Snorkelling,” he blurted. Dustin dropped his arms and pointed at Will.

“No fair!” groaned Lucas, slapping Will jokingly on the shoulder. Will let out a laugh.

“My turn,” said Will as he picked up the next card and scanned over it quickly.

He stood up and exhaled, narrowing his eyes in thought for a minute. He faced the group and reached behind his back, and pulled his arm forward as if grabbing an arrow from a quiver.

“Arrow,” yelled Dustin. Will reached his hands in front of himself, and bent his right arm to mimic an archer pulling back an arrow. He looked down the length of his arm before opening his right hand as he let go of the invisible arrow.

“Archer,” said Eleven.

“Yes,” replied Will, smiling and nodding at Eleven. The group cheered and Mike clapped Eleven supportively on the back. She looked down and blushed at the kindness of her friends. She reached forward and took a card from the pile and stared at it. She furrowed her brows as she read the word ‘freestyle’. She frowned, searching her mind for a definition of the word.

“Hang on,” mumbled Eleven as she stood up and walked over to the shelf and grabbed the dictionary. She flicked through the book before placing her finger on the page and running it over the words, stopping at freestyle. The example read ‘freestyle swimming’ and a lightbulb went off in Eleven’s head. “Ok got it,” she grinned, returning to her spot on the couch.

The boys turned to face her. El mimicked the freestyle stroke, her hands cutting through the air. She wasn’t very confident in her ability to mimic a swimmer, but she had seen it on TV once advertising a swimsuit brand.

“Swimming!” shouted Mike. El shook her head and giggled, continuing the action.

“Easy, freestyle” said Lucas, leaning back against the coffee table. Eleven stopped and nodded. “Told you,” he smiled.

“That was good El,” complimented Mike.

“Thanks,” beamed Eleven.

They went on like this for another hour. Each of them performing an action from simple to downright crazy. One such charade required Dustin to dramatically reenact dying. All of them ended up in fits of giggles as he dropped to the floor, clutching his chest, before he too burst out laughing. It was times like this that Eleven almost completely forgot that she was locked within the cabin. Being with her friends, laughing, enjoying herself, made her feel like she wasn’t missing out on the whole world - for the whole world was here, right in front of her.

\--

As the hours ticked by, Max still stood in front of the video game machine. She let out a grunt of frustration every now and again as she was knocked down by an enemy in the game. She was getting bored of playing the same game over and over, which was a weird thing for her to think, because she was Madmax. The master of video games. But she couldn’t help it that her mind wandered to the face of a girl with smudged black eyeshadow, slicked black hair and an old black coat. Her curiosity and determination was getting the better of her. She desperately wanted to be friends with Eleven. They were the only two girls in the party, so it made sense for them to be. If only she could work up the courage to take the first step and actually go to one of the Thursday game nights.

“That’ll never happen…” mumbled Max.

“What?” said a guy standing in front of a machine next to hers. She looked sideways and shook her head, as if shaking away a thought.

“Nothing,” she replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas tries to convince Max to join him & the party on their visits to Eleven's cabin.

The boys had visited Eleven another four times, and after the second one they stopped asking Max if she was coming. Max didn’t mind, she had skated away each Thursday afternoon before they really got a chance to. Every Friday morning was the same. Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin would tell Max about all the fun and hilarious things they got up to the day before in the little cabin in the woods. Max would be lying if she said she was jealous of them all hanging out, enjoying themselves, becoming a real party.

“Sounds great,” snapped Max when Dustin was talking about the D&D campaign they had played. Dustin stopped short, and looked up at Max, not saying another word. Lucas exchanged a glance with Mike before speaking up.

“Max, why don’t you come to El’s?” asked Lucas.

“You know why. Eleven doesn’t like me,” answered Max in a huff.

“How do you know? You’ve only talked to her once,” pointed out Dustin.

“Talked is one way to put it, but that’s not quite how I remember it,” retorted Max. Dustin put his hands up in defeat and stepped back.

“Come on… we’ve got class now,” muttered Will, trying to break up the tension. The party turned, and slowly made their way to class through the tide of students.

\--

Max slammed her book shut as the recess bell rang. She stood up and shoved the book into her bag and walked out of the classroom before Mr Clarke had even dismissed them. Mr Clarke’s voice trailed off and he looked at Lucas, who only shrugged in response.

Max had a minute to herself before the rest of the class poured out into the hallway.

“Max, hey Max!” called out Lucas, fighting his way through the crowd of students. Max didn’t respond, she kept walking down the hall and kicked the door open, disappearing outside. The rest of the party had caught up with Lucas, and were all looking at him expectantly.

“You know her the best,” said Mike.

“Go talk to her,” said Dustin, pointing in the direction Max had gone off in. Lucas sighed before jogging to find Max.

When Lucas had exited the building, he saw Max skating in her usual spot. Weaving her way around the students as she performed tricks on her board.

“Max, can I talk to you?” asked Lucas. Max stopped skating and flipped her board up.

“What is it, Stalker?” she growled. Lucas winced at the anger in her voice as she said a nickname that had become a happy, inside joke, between the two of them.

“Why are you so against going to Eleven’s?” whispered Lucas, his eyes scanning the nearby area to make sure no one was close enough to hear them.

“Because she hates me, simple as that,” said Max, rolling her eyes at Lucas’ obliviousness.

“No she doesn’t,” responded Lucas.

“Does to,” said Max.

“Does not,” said Lucas.

“Does to,” said Max, a tone of finality in her voice. Lucas sighed.

“Whatever then, whether she hates you or not, you should still come. I think you’d be surprised,” concluded Lucas.

“Here’s the thing. You’re the only one that is here. Mike, Will and Dustin aren’t. I thought I was finally a part of the party, but they don’t care about me,” said Max, a slight quiver in her voice.

“What do you mean?” asked Lucas, furrowing his eyebrows.

“I mean I’m not really welcome in the party,” muttered Max, spinning her board in her hands.

“Max… you know that’s not true,” comforted Lucas. Max wiped her eyes and sniffed quietly. The two stood in silence for a moment. “Look, come to next week’s cabin hangout and you will see just how much you mean to the party, trust me,” said Lucas gently. Max nodded and turned around as the end of recess bell rang out across the school grounds.

\--

A week had past since Max's talk to Lucas. The party was walking towards Steve, who was leaning against his car talking to Nancy and Jonathan. When Steve saw them approaching he tapped the two on the shoulder. The group of teenagers turned to face the oncoming party.

“Mike, remember, be home by 6:30pm, we have a family dinner,” reminded Nancy. Mike rolled his eyes in response.

“And Will, remember to ring me just before you guys are done so I can come and pick you up,” said Jonathan, clapping Will on the back.

“Yeah I know,” answered Will.

“Alright, you little punks, who’s ready for a playdate?” joked Steve.

“We’re 13, we don’t call it a playdate,” replied Mike, scrunching up his face.

“Ok then, who’s ready to hang out,” said Steve, emphasising the ‘hangout’. Nancy opened the car door and the party filed in. Max stood tentatively to the side.

“Max,” said Lucas, gesturing for Max to get into the car. She sighed and went to get in.

“Hey, hey, hey, what do you think you’re doing? Skateboards go in the back,” ordered Steve as he saw Max attempting to take the board with her.

“Really?” challenged Max. Steve nodded and flicked his head to the boot. Max turned and opened the boot, dropping her skateboard inside, before climbing into the back seat. Nancy and Jonathan stepped back and waved as Steve hopped into the car and drove away.

The car was driving relatively smoothly through the streets of Hawkins. Steve was a good driver and was surprisingly cautious. Dustin was in the front, talking to Steve about the recent scientific discovery he was studying. Max found it weird, but oddly comforting, to be squished in the back of the car with the party. Mike and Will were babbling away about the something that happened during English that day. Lucas was looking at Max silently. Max turned to find him staring at her.

“What?” asked Max.

“Nothing,” grinned Lucas.

“Now, I want all of you to know that what I’m doing right now is illegal. Because there are four of you in the back there, but there’s really only three seats, so if we get pulled over, let’s just hope that it’s Hopper,” chimed in Steve. Will and Dustin laughed.

“Well, shouldn’t we not be doing this then?” questioned Max.

“No, we’ll be fine. So long as you little shits don’t draw too much attention,” replied Steve, smiling into the rear view mirror at the kids.

“That’ll be too hard, Max’s hair is like a beacon,” smirked Mike. She scoffed and turned, punching him on the arm. They all broke out laughing. Max grinned, finally feeling accepted amongst the party.

After a few more minutes of driving, Steve pulled over at the end of a small, deserted road.

“You guys have fun now. Tell Eleven I said hi,” said Steve, waving them off as the party disembarked.

“Thanks Steve,” said Dustin as he shut the door. Max grabbed her skateboard from the trunk and the party watched Steve drive off.

“So… where’s the cabin?” asked Max, looking around. She couldn’t see anything on the street other than a forest beside them.

“In there,” Will pointed through the trees. Max raised an eyebrow.

“Just follow us,” ordered Lucas. The party turned, and began their walk to the cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's ignore the fact they had about a 2 minute recess since recess usually goes for about 15 minutes. Also... you'll have to read the next chapter for Max's first time at the Hopper cabin. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max accompanies the party in their trip to El's cabin.

“Where are you guys taking me?” questioned Max as her feet snapped several fallen twigs.

“Eleven’s cabin,” answered Mike.

“Holy shit, are you guys kidnapping me?” yelled Max, looking around at the group.

“No, we’re going to Eleven’s cabin,” replied Dustin coolly.

“Yeah, it’s got to be somewhere where no one can find her,” informed Lucas. Max’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“Alright…” Max said slowly.

“We’re nearly there,” notified Will, pointing ahead of them. In the distance, a small log cabin could be seen peeking through the trees. From far away, it could’ve been mistaken for a clump of trees, but as they approached it, the distinct outline of a house could be seen. The party ascended the stairs without speaking, their footsteps slapping against the wood. Mike stepped forward and tapped on the door. Lucas and Dustin grinned at Max, who only frowned in response.

There was three clicks, and the door swung open. Eleven was staring at the door expectantly, her curly brown hair framed her face. She was wearing a baggy grey sweater and a pair of Mike’s sweatpants that he had brought the previous time. The party filed in, one by one they greeted El, who nodded to each of them in turn. Max lingered outside of the door, fiddling with the sleeve of her jumper for a moment. Lucas stopped and turned around, gesturing for Max to enter. She sighed before reluctantly walking in after the rest of the group. Eleven, who was talking to Mike, immediately fell silent as she saw the redhead walk in. Max looked at El and grinned awkwardly, El stared back, a bored expression on her face.

“Hey Eleven,” stuttered Max. Eleven looked her up and down before turning to face Mike. Lucas nodded encouragingly to Max.

“Good start,” whispered Lucas. Max smiled at him, but felt like her greeting was the opposite of good. Mike was settled beside Eleven on the couch, and Will, Dustin and Lucas had already taken their designated spots on the floor. Max stood to the side, leaning against a post.

“So what should we play today?” asked Mike.

“Movie,” replied Eleven.

“Oh, ok. What movie?” responded Mike.

“Ghostbusters,” mumbled Eleven. The party’s face lit up with excitement. Max slowly slid down the wall, sitting with her back against the post. There was a gap between her and the rest of the party, it felt like an invisible barrier was blocking her from them. Eleven and Mike were loading up the movie as Lucas, Dustin and Will collected blankets and popped popcorn. To see them all moving like this, so freely and comfortably with each other warmed Max’s heart. But there was also a pang, a longing to be a part of this. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, the only thing stopping her from engaging with them was her own thoughts. 

“Popcorn?” came a voice, drawing Max from her daze. It was Will, holding a bowl of popcorn, he shook it in offering.

“Thanks,” said Max, taking a handful. Eleven dimmed the lights from where she was sitting and Dustin handed out blankets. In the low light, the cabin felt warm and cozy. Amongst her friends, Eleven felt that this tiny cabin might not be so bad after all.

\--

As the movie played, the sun sunk lower in the sky, and the afternoon light streaked through the trees. It’s golden rays streaming in through the windows, illuminating the dust floating through the air. Max was only just finishing her popcorn now, which had gone cold from sitting in her hand. Everyone was watching the screen intently as if watching the movie for the first time, but of course for the party it was really their tenth screening of it.

“Ghost,” whispered Eleven.

“What?” asked Mike, turning his head to face her.

“I was a ghost for Halloween last year,” said Eleven as she pointed at a white sheet that lay folded on top of the shelf.

“Oh that’s cool, we were ghostbusters,” smiled Mike.

“I know,” replied Eleven, her eyes moving to meet Mikes. “I wanted you guys to find me,” she whispered, looking around at Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas’ faces. They all let out a smile and Eleven leant down, all of them huddling together for a hug. Max watched from the side, a smile creeping onto her face. However, it was quickly wiped off when she saw Eleven staring at her from the corner of her eye, Max cleared her throat and made an effort to look anywhere than at the party. They let go of one another and continued to watch the screen.

Once the movie had drawn to a close, the boys let out a short burst of applause and Dustin whooped.

“Haven’t you guys seen that movie a million times?” piped up Max, bemused by their enjoyment.

“Yeah but it’s a great movie,” said Lucas. Max shrugged. The sun was very low in the sky now, casting it’s last rays of light upon the little cabin.

“Can I use your phone?” asked Will to Eleven, who nodded. Will stood up and walked into the kitchen, ringing Jonathan’s number. As Will talked to his brother, the rest of the boys stood up to pack away the food. Max was standing next to the linen cupboard as Eleven picked up the blankets.

“I can take those,” said Max, gesturing at the blankets in Eleven’s hands. El looked at her silently before handing them over, then turning and disappearing around the corner. Max let out a sigh as Lucas came around the corner.

“So, did you enjoy this?” he asked.

“Yeah, it was ok,” replied Max, then dropping her voice, “Eleven still isn’t too keen about me.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll warm up to you,” said Lucas, slinging an arm around Max and squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

\--

The party bid their goodbyes to Eleven and walked through the woods, arriving back at the end of the street.

“See you guys tomorrow,” waved Max as she dropped her skateboard down. The boys had all climbed into Jonathan’s car to be driven home.

“Do you need a ride, Max?” questioned Jonathan.

“Nah, I’ve got my skateboard,” said Max as she stepped onto it.

“Later,” called Mike from the car. Max watched them as they drove off. She went to skate off when she heard a snapping of a twig, and turned. In the distance, hidden slightly behind a tree, was Eleven. The wind was still, and a silence stretched between them. Max didn’t know what to do, and looked down at her skateboard. By the time she looked back up, Eleven was gone, and with that Max skateboarded home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Eleven's 'I wanted you guys to find me' was inspired by a post on tumblr. I can't remember the exact post but it had something about El dressing up as a ghost bc the the party were ghostbusters and so she wanted them to find her. oof my heart.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rainy day in Hawkins makes for the perfect afternoon activity.

For the next week, Max was silently eager for the next party hangout at Eleven’s. The image of Eleven looking at her from the cabin made her smile, she felt like maybe, just maybe, there was a hope for a friendship now.

“What’re you smiling about?” queried Lucas as he saw Max smiling to herself as she looked out the classroom window. Max snapped out of her daydream and turned to face Lucas.

“Nothing,” she said, dropping the smile.

“Lucas, Max, please pay attention,” interjected Mr Clarke, who was currently holding a human brain model.

“Sorry sir,” replied Max and Lucas in unison.

\--

Much to their disappointment, Thursday was a day filled with bad weather. The sky was dark grey, and lightning cracked in the distance. Wind whipped against the school building and rain lashed against the windows. The party took refuge in the library during break times, whispering with hushed excitement about what they’ll do that afternoon at El’s.

“Movie night, perfect weather for it,” proposed Dustin.

“Or puddle jumping?” suggested Will

“’Or puddle jumping’” mimicked Lucas in a silly voice, “what are you, twelve?” he joked.

“Hey, come on, it’s fun sometimes,” mumbled Will shyly.

“We can puddle jump on the way there,” said Max, grinning at Will.

“Oh, so are you a regular at these party meetings now?” scoffed Mike. Max look taken aback.

“Well yeah, I am a member of the party. Am I not?” Max replied, sighing. She was sick of having this argument with Mike. There was an awkward silence. Dustin turned around and slammed a book on the desk, making them all jump. Max was grateful for his distraction, although it was a bit dramatic.

“Isn’t what we’re learning in class fascinating? I’m going to be a science teacher when I grow up,” beamed Dustin, tapping the biology book in front of him.

“You’ll be great at that,” encouraged Max, smiling and nodding at Dustin.

“Thanks Max,” grinned Dustin, the colour rising in his cheeks. Max was in a good mood, and wanted to extend that happiness to the rest of the party, whether Mike wanted her to or not.

\--

Rain was trickling down on the car windows, and the car skidded slightly as Steve turned the corner.

“I hope you all brought rain coats. You’re going to get hypothermia at this rate,” lectured Steve. The party exchanged glances and rolled their eyes.

“You’re not our mum,” said Mike.

“What do you mean I’m not your mum? I drive you guys around, take you to the arcade and buy you ice cream. That’s exactly what mums do,” responded Steve, slightly offended.

“Alright well, thanks mum,” said Max sarcastically.

“Watch the attitude missy,” ordered Steve as the car slowed to a stop at the end of the road.

“Total mum,” said Lucas as he opened the door and the party piled out.

“Put your jackets on! And be careful not to slip!” said Steve before Will shut the door. There was a deep puddle on the road, and Max and Will looked at another with a devious grin on their face. They turned and ran towards it, jumping into it and splashing water all up their jeans.

“Five year olds, honestly,” muttered Mike.

Max and Will let out a laugh as the rain beat down on their skin. The party ran through the woods, stepping in mud as they went, splattering it over one another. Inside the cabin, Eleven could hear the redheads laughter before she heard the party’s footsteps as they climbed up the steps. Outside, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas and Max were freezing and shaking, but they didn’t mind – this is what kids did, ruined their clothes and played in the rain. Even though they were all thirteen, there were times where they could let loose and act like children with one another.

Mike pulled down the hood of his jacket and knocked on the door. The locks clicked and everyone pulled their mud-drenched shoes off, leaving them outside the door. A chill ran down their backs as they stepped into the warm cabin, the sudden temperature change burned through their bodies. They were thankful for the newfound warmth from the fireplace ablaze in the corner. Eleven looked from one face to the other. Everybody’s hair was plastered to their foreheads and there were mud spots on their cheeks.

“What happened?” she asked.

“We were having fun in the rain,” informed Dustin, wiping away the water that was dripping onto his face from his hair.

“Want to try it?” questioned Max. Eleven slowly turned to look at Max, and hesitated, before nodding.

“She can’t leave the cabin…” reminded Mike.

“We’re only going just outside, it’ll be fine. Come on Mike,” said Will.

“Fine,” replied Mike, “grab yourself some shoes and a jumper” he said to Eleven.

\--

Will, Max, Dustin and Lucas were all already outside, splashing around in the muddy forest when Eleven left her room with a pair of boots on and one of hopper’s oversized jumpers. Mike was waiting for her at the door, and motioned for her to follow. El walked outside slowly, peering up at the sky as the water pelted down.

“Cold,” she said, shivering.

“I know, but run around and you’ll warm up, that’s what I did,” admitted Mike. The two stepped down from the balcony and onto the forest floor. Eleven’s curly locks were quickly pressed down from the rain, her light grey jumper turning to dark grey from the water.

The party all danced around the cabin, kicking up twigs and throwing leaves at one another. Mud splattered all around them, some splashes landing on their clothes and others being so powerful that it hit their face. Max saw a large mud puddle and jumped towards it, spraying mud everywhere. What she hadn’t realized was that Eleven was standing beside the puddle, and was now covered in mud. Max looked up and froze as she saw El’s face.

“Sorry,” she breathed. The boys stopped and turned to look at them. Dustin and Lucas exchanged a nervous glance. Eleven looked from her clothes, then up to Max. Then El did the last thing Max thought Eleven would ever do - she jumped and splashed down in a puddle, spraying Max in retaliation.

“Oof!” yelled Max as the cold mud hit her in the face. The boys breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Eleven laugh at Max. The two started to splash mud at one another. The party continue to danc in the rain. 

For more than an hour the rain pounded down on them all. Soaking through their clothes and sticking their hair flat. It was as if the rain had washed away all the previous tension amongst the group. Eleven and Max were picking up leaves and throwing them at Mike and Will. Lucas and Dustin were trying to trip one another into mud puddles.

\--

As the rain eased off, the party retreated to the cabin. All of them were breathless from laughing and running around in the rain. When they opened the door, the light from inside spilled out onto the balcony and illuminated their faces. Every bit of mud and drop of rain could be seen on their skin, and they all let out another laugh before running indoors, tracking mud in with them.

“Hopper won’t be pleased,” warned Lucas.

“That’s ok,” said Eleven.

“It’s 5:30pm, we should go,” advised Will. Everyone walked over to Eleven and hugged her goodbye before walking out of the cabin. Max was the last one left, and stood awkwardly to the side, not sure what to do. Eleven watched Mike leaving before turning to see that Max was still here. Max was staring at the floor when she felt Eleven hug her. She tensed up in surprise before raising her arms to hug her back.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Eleven.

“It’s ok. I’m sorry too,” whispered Max back. The two let go of one another and stared at each other, a smile appearing on each of their faces. “See you next week, El,” said Max, waving and walking out of the cabin. As the door shut behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it seemed, her and Eleven were friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it - Max & El are friends!


	6. Chapter 6

Mike and Eleven must have been on some telepathic wavelength because once Eleven had accepted Max, Mike did to. A kind of relief had washed over Max in the past few days. It seemed as if the party was finally standing together, all six of them were closer than ever. It was easy now, talking to one another. Soon enough they were able to communicate with only facial expressions. During Mr Clarke’s lessons, Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas were sat at the front, whilst Max was still seated at the back and to the side. Often during the lesson, one of the boys would turn around and mouth something to Max, mostly ‘AV Club lunch’.

Whether they had meant it or not, the party ended up in the library at least twice a week. There they would have half a dozen books on all matter of things spread out in front of them. Max admitted that she didn’t understand all of science, and the boys saw it as their mission to help her with it. In return, she could help them with English, which was her best subject. Max eventually taught Lucas and Dustin the definition of ‘presumptuous’ and it had become an inside joke between the three of them.

It was a pleasant feeling, the easiness shared between them all, not having to worry about what the other was thinking, because they would say it. 

Along with science, the party taught Max Morse code, and she was very confused at first.

“I don’t get it, they’re just lines and dots,” she commented, scrunching her face up in thought.

“Yes but they mean something, look at this card, it tells you what each combination means,” said Dustin, sliding a card in front of her.

“I can give you my Morse code card tomorrow, that way you can study it outside of school,” Lucas offered. Max thanked him before they returned to class for the final lesson of Thursday.

\--

The sky was clear, with only a few white clouds dotting the blue. Birds were chirping from the treetops as the party walked the short distance from the road to Eleven’s cabin. Max was sure all of them could walk through this blindfolded, now that they had been through here so often. Lucas joked and said he could do it with his hands tied behind his back. Dustin told Lucas if he was so sure of himself then he had to do it next week, to which Lucas quickly declined the challenge, not wanting to run headfirst into a tree.

Jumping up the steps, Mike knocked on the door. It swung open after the locks clicked and Eleven was standing in the kitchen, pulling a pair of shoes on.

“What’re you doing,” he questioned.

“Outside,” announced Eleven, tying her shoelaces and making her way to the door. She stepped over the threshold easily, each time before she had hesitated. But here, with her friends, she felt safe.

“What’re we going to do? There’s no puddles,” pointed out Will, his mind travelling back to their meet up three weeks ago. Eleven scanned the perimeter, searching for something that wasn’t yet clear to the party.

“What’re you looking for?” asked Dustin, trying to follow her gaze.

“A tree,” replied Eleven, bending down and picking up a sharp stick.

“Well ok, let’s go find a good tree,” said Lucas in a not-too-convinced tone. Nevertheless, he jumped down from the balcony and began walking around the trees. The rest of the party followed, looking up the trunks of trees to see their high tops. Eleven was walking slowly, staring intently at each tree.

\--

“Here,” she called out. Everyone turned and walked up to where she was standing. She was facing a thick tree that was a few paces from the cabin. Eleven raised the stick and pressed the point to the bark, scratching it. At first it seemed just like a mark, but soon everyone realized she was spelling something.

“Eleven,” she whispered, stepping back to looked at her handy work. The word ‘eleven’ was carved into the trunk of the tree. She turned and passed the stick to Mike, who stepped forward and scratched his name underneath Eleven's. Then it was Will’s turn, then Dustin’s, then Lucas’ and finally Max’s. Once she had finished, the whole party took a step back and read the names they had carved into the bark.

“The party,” grinned Max.

“The party,” everyone repeated, sharing a smile. They all stood in silence for a minute, their eyes studying the grooves of the bark that held their names.

\--

The party entered the cabin, and Eleven sat down on the couch.

“What now?” questioned Will.

“Charades,” responded Eleven, nodding at the box on the shelf. It hovered above the shelf for a moment before floating towards her, dropping into her lap. “Teams. I’ll go with Max,” she said. Max flicked her head up, and saw Eleven looking at her with a smile.

“Alright,” said Max, moving up beside her on the couch.

“I’ll go with Will,” added Mike, moving down to sit beside Will.

“I’m with Lucas then,” said Dustin. Eleven opened the box and placed the stack of cards in the centre of them all.

“So, how do we play team charades?” asked Max, looking from the cards to Eleven.

“One person gets a card, and acts it out to their partner. You have thirty seconds to guess it. If they guess it, you earn a point. Whichever team at the end has the most points wins,” explained Dustin. Max nodded and reached down, picking up a card from the top of the pile.

“I’ll go first,” she said, reading over the card, before turning to Eleven. “Ready?” she asked. Eleven nodded and Max began acting out her card.

\--

The sun had sunk past the horizon before anyone realised what time it was. They had been too busy furiously acting out things to one another, determined to be the winning team. In the end, Lucas and Dustin won. Eleven and Max tied with with Mike and Will, much to their frustration. Max let out a sigh and sunk back into the chair, Eleven copied her, and the two started laughing.

“Teams charades is bad,” grumbled Mike as Will packed away the cards

“That’s just because you lost,” said Lucas, smirking as he and Dustin highfived.

“Oh shut up,” replied Mike, punching him on the shoulder. Will got up and called Jonathan. Mike turned around and hugged Eleven goodbye. Dustin moved forward and joined the hug, then Will did, then Lucas and then Max. They stood like that for a while, their breathing falling into sync. Right here was their safety circle. No demodogs, demogorgons or mind flayers could reach them here. So long as they were together, they were going to be alright. 

They eventually let go of one another and said goodbye to Eleven. When the rest of the party was walking away from the cabin, each of them touched a hand to the tree with their names carved into it. Halfway through walking back to the road, Max turned around and saw Eleven standing on the balcony. Max raised her hand and waved. Eleven waved back. Max smiled and turned, disappearing through the trees and onto the road.

Eleven was still disappointed that she couldn’t leave the cabin, she wanted to attend school with her friends. But the weekly Thursday get together was enough to get her through the week.

“Soon,” she whispered, looking out from the balcony to the carved tree.

“Soon,” the wind whispered back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow such a poetic ending!111!! (don't ask me why I ended it like that - I don't have an answer). I hope you all enjoyed my first multi-chapter fic!

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my first multi-chapter fic on a03! Not really sure how to work this yet but hopefully it will be laid out correctly. hope you enjoyed the first chapter!


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